Pancake Sheaths and how I go about them. (PIC HEAVY)

Horsewright,
A few questions
  • When you use your piece of wood to "slick" (as you call it) the leather, is this more or less the same thing as what other's call casing?
  • What benefits does Pro Carv (or any other carving/tooling liquid) offer?
  • Would a pre-heated toaster oven, on low, give the same effects as using a large oven? My toaster also has the ability to use only the bottom heat ring, would that be helpful?
  • How do you apply the Wyo Quik Slik, with your lathe? If one doesn't have a lathe, could I apply it by hand and then work it in with an antler?

Thanks!
AJ
 
@KingsArmourer

1) Nope, I call it slicking others call it glassing. Casing is another whole process. Casing is getting the moisture content in the leather right for tooling or other work. The old way was to soak leather in water until bubbles stopped coming out. Then wrap it in a wool blanket and leave overnight. Next morning the moisture content was about right for working. The moisture content is about right when the normal color starts coming back into the leather. This is the time to slick the leather too.

2) Saves ya the overnight wait. I dampen leather with a sponge using my water/Pro Carv mix and when the color starts coming back, which is just a few minutes, I'm good to go. I feel it also assists in uniform moisture content, so that one part of the project is not damper than another as long as you apply it correctly. helps in tooling, wet molding, folding leather etc. I have not dampened or wet a piece of leather without Pro Carv in years.

3) Don't know ya'd have to experiment. Ya could check the temp of the toaster oven with a meat thermometer. Since I wrote this tutorial we've replaced our stove. I now have a dual oven to play with. It rocks.

4) I apply the Quick Slik with a foam brush to the edge of the leather. The lathe just does the rubbing for me. Yep your piece of antler has been used to rub edges for centuries. I use to use an old awl handle that was some unknown hardwood to rub edges.

Ya bet and hope that helps.
 
Creasing to me finishes off an unfinished edge. I darn near crease any edge that is not sewn. Creasing burnishes the line, done correctly onto cased and slicked leather it will yield a draker line. Grooving is for inlaying stitches. Idea is to help protect the stiches from abrasion by sinking them into the surface of the leather. Course it gives an idea for a guy as to where to sew too. I have seen folks use a stitching groover as a creaser and it sure works. I do it on one specific project on one specific area. When I make a martingale the tabs of the lining that fold over the D rings and are sewn down to the body are creased by using the stiching groover. Reason being is that I don't know where the stiching groove will end and the crease begin until they are folded over and glued and obviously its too late then.
 
Hi Dave & All,

Dave, thank you very much for posting this "How To", I am new to leatherworking & really appreciate your sharing your hard learned lessons. Thanks!

I am in the pattern drawing stage on a upswept point knife & was wondering how to do the welt. From your tutorial: "The only time I will put a welt in on the top side if I'm making a sheath for someone else's knife with an upswept point. Then the upper welt is only about half of the top and I skive the edge of it to zero."

Am I envisioning it correctly that the welt is from the sheath opening, goes about 1/2 length & is tapered at the end like the lower welt?
Or is the welt is full length & is skived to zero so it doesn't reach the edge?

Thanks Again & Best Regards,
Jon
 
@rcwarship the topside welt is fitted at the bottom, butted up snugly against the primary welt. It extends up about half way and then is skivvied to zero. Because of the molding of the sheath at the top for the handle its wider at the top so doesn't seem to get the wear that the bottom of the sheath being much thinner gets. I have done some where I ran the top welt all the way just like the bottom welt, just kinda depends on the knife. Lay out your welts on the sheath and then take the knife and put it into the sheath so to speak. Watch the interplay of that point with the welt and that will tell ya where the welt will need to be.

@KingsArmourer very little and not very often. I like it to be about like milk so it spreads on easily and quickly. When I do dilute it it has been only a few drops to get it back to milky.
 
Thank you very much for the info Dave, I obviously hadn't thought about the welt at the bottom, eh! I'll make up some welts & see how it goes.
Best Regards,
Jon
 
Dave......what about the maker stamp you have. I would like to get one made. Can you say where you got it ?? Thanks.
 
@qdod Don't know that I would go with them again. Honestly it hasn't held up as well as ones we've had in the past. Its also uncomfortable to hold onto. We were literally talking yesterday about replacing it. Another thing it was stupidly expensive. So I flipped through an old Leathercarfter's magazine. Couple places ya might check are Grey Ghost Graphics and steelstampsinc.com no experience with either just ads in the right places. Paul has one out of brass maybe he'll chime in with where he got it and if he's been happy with it @sheathmaker
 
Qdod,
I have several from steelstampsinc.com. They work great. The owner and I talked about one that could work for leather or steel. It works great! They are easy to work with.

Regards,
Steve Hostetler
 
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